


A lifetime of promises

by sweetsun



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: 5+1 Things, Angst, David Rose Loves Patrick Brewer, Drunk David Rose, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Happy Ending, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Panic Attacks, Patrick Brewer loves David Rose
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 03:29:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28681845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetsun/pseuds/sweetsun
Summary: Five times Patrick stayed, and one time David did.
Relationships: Alexis Rose & David Rose, Patrick Brewer/David Rose, Stevie Budd & Patrick Brewer
Comments: 17
Kudos: 148





	A lifetime of promises

**Author's Note:**

> I just have so much feelings for this show and the way it comforted me - I had to put them into something.  
> I hope I did the characters justice and hope you will enjoy it! Comments are very welcomed, as I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Have a good read!
> 
> P.S: English isn't my first language, so I'm sorry if you find any mistakes.

**1.**

“I’ll be right back,” David had whispered before slipping away into the backroom. He looked a bit nervous, carefully avoiding Patrick’s gaze as he closed the curtain behind him. Patrick lingered for an instant, wondering if he should follow his partner. He was pulled away from the thought as a customer approached him for help. 

It was the lady’s first visit to the store, so Patrick made sure to guide her through the place and introduced her to their large range of products. He gave her skincare products advice, surprisingly good enough to make her carry a newfound routine to the cash register. Patrick smiled at himself for a second, proud of his accomplishment, but he was quick to acknowledge that he would have never made that sale without David’s educational course on toners, serums and moisturizers. As he thought about him, he realized that his friend hadn’t come out of his hiding place yet. He chuckled. Probably a smart way to let Patrick deal with the business for a bit, while gossiping with Stevie over text – it happened a _lot_ , he had noticed, as much in Rose Apothecary as whenever he’d caught sight of the bored receptionist. 

Patrick stepped towards the backroom.

“David,” he called, unsuccessfully trying to hide his amusement while stepping in. “I’ve just made a huge – “ he stopped in his tracks, noticing that David was standing by the side table, hands grasping the edges of the chair near him for support, knuckles turned white.

Patrick noticed his partner’s shaky arms and the way his lips trembled slightly.

“David?” he called softly, while approaching the other man.

Hearing his voice, David looked up, visibly upset, a flash of embarrassment running through the other man’s face. Patrick noticed the rapid rise and fall of his partner’s chest, whose breathing seemed to be abnormally quick. He leaned against the table next to him, leaving a careful distance between them. He waited for a few seconds, but David didn’t say a word. His stomach tightened with worry.

“Are you alright?” he asked. _Obviously not_ – that was a silly way to get a reaction from David.

At that, the other man inhaled a deep breath, shook his head. “Just _peachy_ ,” he managed to say. “You should go,” he whispered. Patrick decided to ignore that comment. David didn’t look injured, didn’t seem ill; his watery eyes made Patrick go a different path.

“Did something happen –“ he tried carefully.

David cut him off. “Nothing happened, Patrick.”

He didn’t intend to be mean, but he was determined to push Patrick away – he couldn’t let his partner see him like that. He couldn’t be vulnerable, he couldn’t let himself be raw around him because he wouldn’t _get it_ , he wouldn’t understand his anxiety’s random outburts – his breath had quickened again, his thoughts spiraling down in an endless circle. He could hear a distant voice calling his name amongst his blurry world. Something startled him – Patrick’s hand had tentatively landed on his shoulder.

“Is this okay?” Patrick asked. His demand was delicate: his voice was calm, his fingers asking to soothe his pain away, without pushing the request while waiting for David’s response.

“It’s just – “ Patrick’s cheeks were tainted by a small blush. “It helps, sometimes. My mom says it grounds people back to reality.”

David nodded, accepting the welcomed gesture. Patrick stood closer to David, rubbing his back through gentle motions. He was thoughtful, watching out for any signs of distress, any cue indicating that he needed to back off. Instead, David looked up to him, locking his gaze with Patrick’s, asking for a silent permission they both understood. Patrick gave him a small nod, raising his arms to secure his partner in a warm hug. David let his head rest on Patrick’s shoulder. Everything went silent for a while, both of them realizing that quiet didn’t have to mean uncomfortable, when you were with the right person. David’s breathing evened out, their embraced relaxed, as David slowly came back to his senses, letting go of Patrick.

“Well – hope you enjoyed the freak show,” he said, looking away, shame cursing through his veins.

There was no way Patrick was going to be okay with this – if David’s outbursts and dramatic effects hadn’t made him run away yet, this would be the last straw.

“You’re not a freak, David.” David quirked his eyebrows, ready to argue defensively, before Patrick continued. “I used to have them too, you know. Panic attacks, I mean. If that’s what it was.”

He didn’t mean to push David’s boundaries, but the other man acknowledged his sentence, nodding at him. Silence surrounded them again, neither wanting to risk getting too far into the other’s personal issues. David cleared his throat, trying to move on to the next topic.

“So your shift supposedly ended –“ he stopped to look at his watch and frowned. “ – _wow_ , twenty minutes ago,“ he paused for a second. “You should go home,” he whispered, letting the words slip out of his lips before he could catch them. He didn’t feel like being on his own, but couldn’t take more advantage of Patrick’s kindness. His partner seemed to consider the offer before speaking again.

“I could stay,” Patrick suggested, shrugging his shoulders - hiding his concern behind an act of service, a means to watch over David for the rest of the day. “You know, help you close up the store and get things ready for tomorrow.”

Patrick’s hand brushed David’s so gently that he might not have noticed it if he hadn’t been so focused on their interaction.

 _You could stay forever, if you’d like,_ David thought. He tried to ignore the way his heart fluttered – as if he could fool himself into thinking that it didn’t belong to the other man already. Patrick will leave eventually, the way people always did. Enjoying his company as long as he could only seemed fair. _Okay, then. Stay._

**2.**

When David started to drift away into sleep that night, he fought to stay awake, praying for his eyelids to stay open just a bit longer. He desperately wanted to memorize this moment; he wanted to engrave it on his mind, to remember every single detail about it. He focused on Patrick’s steady heartbeat, soothing him. He embraced the warm feeling of strong arms around him – _thank you, baseball practice_. He took in the perfume emanating from them; he knew it already, he used that body wash every day at the motel too – yet it smelled different, mixed in with Patrick’s scent. He liked it even better. He tried to register it as he felt his body slowly giving up the fight, the night taking him away. He hoped the feeling would stick with him until morning, in case Patrick wasn’t there when he woke up. David locked it away in his heart, keeping it safe. If it never happened again, at least he’d be able to look back at their first night, to revisit what he felt right then – serenity, and a peace of mind he had never known before.

-

David emerged from sleep slowly, soft kisses pressed on his neck. A warm body was curled against him, Patrick’s legs surrounding his own, a hand resting on his waist. “You’re here,” David whispered, mostly to himself. He hadn’t opened his eyes yet, relishing into his daydream.

“I don’t ever want to be anywhere else,” Patrick answered, continuing his kissing trail, making it to David jaw, his cheek, his lips. David finally opened his eyes, turning around, deciding it was time to enjoy the view.

**3.**

“I don’t think you’re real, sometimes,” stated David.

Patrick hummed, questioning David’s reasoning; he continued to apply serum to his boyfriend’s face, as gently as he could, letting it penetrate the skin. He put his other hand on David’s shoulder, trying to make him sit more steadily on the bed edge. 

“Like, I don’t get how you’re _here_ ,” David continued, his voice taking a higher pitch to emphasize his words. His eyes were unfocused and the world around him was spinning. He tried to rest his head on Patrick’s chest, letting himself fall forward. He was looking for comfort, something to make the drums in his head a bit more quiet. Patrick stopped him, lifting his chin up. _Not done yet_ , he thought.

“Seems pretty easy to get, David. You and Stevie went pretty hard on that drinking game, it seemed safer to take you back here before you embarrassed yourself _more_ , because you two seemed pretty open to launch a karaoke in a bar that didn’t offer it, so,” Patrick explained. _“I wouldn’t have, Patrickkk,”_ David mumbled under his breath.

He took a second before making himself clear. “But I meant, like, not _here,_ but _h_ eeeere, with me.”

“Care to develop that thought?” Patrick tried, unsure that he could make sense of David’s drunken ramblings.

“Like – you took me home because I was _drunk_ , you’re taking care of me – you’re doing my _skincare routine_ , who does _that_? How do you even remember it?” David gasped, backing away for a second. “Are you a mind reader?” he asked, his face looking more serious than it should be able to, considering his state.

That got a laugh at out Patrick, who paused for a second before grabbing David’s under-eye cream; he wasn’t going to let the other man distract him from this very important task.

“I am not a mind reader, David. I’ve seen you do this a _thousand_ times and – “

“That’s impossible, ‘cause there’s like, three thousand and sixt- wait, three hundred and sixty… – just, _not enough days_ since I’ve known you for it to be a thousand, so,”

Patrick sighed, without being able to hold back a smile. He shouldn’t even respond, David would likely forget about it before he woke up the next day; but he couldn’t help himself, his guts telling him to be honest with David, even then.

“Alright – you caught me here. Maybe I let my eyes linger a bit longer that they need to whenever you take care of yourself,” David giggled, thinking about the _obvious_ pun that Patrick has missed. “You look so carefully focused, I find it endearing. So my brain must have gathered enough information to recreate it,” he confessed.

David was grinning at him, then ran a very clumsy hand through Patrick’s hair.

“That is very cute of you.” He pressed a sloppy kiss to his boyfriend’s mouth, before letting silence fall back around them.

Patrick was almost done with the moisturizer when David spoke again. He was a bit surprised that the other man wasn’t half-asleep already, as he hadn’t made a sound in the last minutes.

“You might be a wizard, though,” David whispered. “Or like – a ghost hired to haunt me for my sins.”

“I would be a very nice ghost, then,” Patrick answered casually, playing along.

“Well, no, ‘cause you’d be making me fall hard for you before leaving with _no_ explanations, and that might be the worst punishment I could get.”

Patrick’s heart shattered at the sentence, a lump forming in his throat. David didn’t look bothered; he had dropped the words inadvertently, as if it was almost irrelevant. As if the thought had been with him for a while, and he was at peace with it, knowing that it was going to happen eventually. The alcohol still running through him was probably unhelpful to the situation; David not quite grasping the idea that he had just dropped a bombshell into the room.

Patrick pulled himself together, pushing his aching heart aside.

“David,” he lifted up his boyfriend’s head, looking straight at him. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Something sparked in David’s eyes for a second, as if the words brought him back to consciousness. Patrick caught the glimmer before his partner’s eyes went unfocused again. “ _I’m gonna take a nap nap, Patrick”_ , he said. “Okay, David. I’ll be here when you wake up”, he answered, pressing a kiss to David’s forehead.

**4.**

“It wasn’t really about the gifts, you know that, right?”

Patrick raised an eyebrow at Stevie, who was playing around with the lip balms displayed in front of her. David had left to get drinks at the café a few minutes before, claiming that he’d had enough of his friend’s mockeries. His _Simply the Best_ choreography had been a display of vulnerability and a mature way of proving his feelings for Patrick, he had said, not a subject of inside jokes for Patrick and David’s best friend, the day after his performance.

“I don’t think anyone ever fought to keep him around before,” Stevie added. “More like the opposite, from what I’ve heard.”

“Yeah, I – David usually drops anecdotes about _awful_ people randomly, but when it comes to serious discussions, I think you’re actually more informed that I am, Stevie. But I get – I’m aware of his insecurities, yes,” Patrick sighed.

He knew about David’s hesitance concerning relationships, he knew about his trust issues, he knew about his fear of abandonment; mostly because he noticed, because he listened to David attentively. His boyfriend rarely talked about his past as a serious matter, and Patrick had been too scared to dig in. The unpredicted meeting with Rachel threw the Pandora box open for the both of them.

Still, Patrick had been unhappy about David’s reaction the day before; their break had been incredibly painful, and when David didn’t reach out for a week, Patrick thought that he had made the biggest mistake of his life, that he had lost it all. Making him wait while he was suffering didn’t look like an empathic choice.

“He told me he was giving you an out,” Stevie started again, pulling him back from his thoughts. He found himself unable to answer, stunned by her words. His friend took it as a cue to elaborate.

“David told me that if you were to break up with him, he would rather have it now, in the midst of a legitimate fight, than when you’ll realize down the road that he’s either too much or not enough for you, while he’ll have no reason to want it to end,” Stevie explained. “His words, not mine,” she added.

“That’s – “

Patrick couldn’t find the right words – David would always go out of his way to find a reason for him to _hypothetically_ leave; he wished he could blame it on his sense of drama, but knew that it came from much deeper. He thought about the few pieces of David’s past puzzle; he thought about the traumas that David passed as jokes, he let the name _Sebastian Raine_ pop in his head. He knew that by hiding his past with Rachel and the texts she had sent him, he could have as well thrown away any progress that he had made concerning David’s trust, and had sent him down a loop of doubts and reconsiderations about every single moment they had spent together.

Stevie tapped on the counter, considering how to phrase the rest of her thoughts.

“He can be an idiot, sometimes,” she said. “You were a bit of an idiot on that one too, Brewer.”

“I know,” he answered quietly. Before he could offer an apology – because Stevie deserved one too, he had not only affected David by his mistake, but the whole Rose family; and Stevie was part of that family – Stevie continued.

“But the gifts showed up, and David hoped. He wasn’t sure after the first one, because apparently some asshole used to send him flowers and wine to apologize for being _‘non-exclusive’_ without David’s knowledge,” she sighed. “Anyway – he thought you’d give up if he didn’t come back after that one. But they kept coming and he finally realized, as I told him many times, that you were probably different and deserved a second chance. They were – the gifts were a proof that you wanted him back, every single day, I guess. He didn’t tell me the whole thing, but I just put two and two together.”

Patrick felt a bit silly, standing in front of David’s best friend, who could always pierce through David’s layers to get a better understanding of his perspective. He should have guessed it – but David was happy to let him misunderstand the situation, taking the easy way out, and Patrick had been too upset to pursue the truth.

“I – thank you, Stevie. For that, and for taking care of him when I couldn’t.” Patrick’s voice is genuine, offering his gratitude with words, the only way he knew how.

“Well – I did go to the spa, so that was nice,” she answered, her usual smirk twisting her lips. “But don’t screw up again, Brewer, because he was a _mess_ ,” she added. Behind her smile and casualness, Patrick could read the protectiveness she held for David.

“I won’t, Stevie. I’m in this for the long run – I’ll tell you more about it, someday.”

Patrick didn’t say it then – he would sound insane, telling Stevie, after four months of dating and a very recent break, that he knew he would marry David Rose someday. But if anything, his time away from David had taught him that he couldn’t envision his life without him – not then, not ever. So Patrick would stay, and try to make sure that David knew he would.

**5.**

“I’m gonna get a nurse, alright? I’ll be right back.”

Patrick pressed a few more kisses to David’s knuckles and rushed out of the room. As he disappeared behind the door frame, Alexis made her apparition, head tilted back towards the outside room, waving frenetically. “ _See you soon, button!”_ she yelled. Turning back, she offered the patient a huge smile.

“David!” she exclaimed, hurrying to his brother’s side. She looked around for a second, positioned her coffee cup on the bedside table, before lunging towards to give him an awkward hug, as David was propped up against a pillow. He embraced her for a second, though; the familiar affection from his sister was a nice touch. Not that he would let her know that.

“I’m not dying yet, Alexis,” he stated as she pulled back. “Just feels like my brain is undergoing renovations made with _very_ loud jackhammers,” he added, rubbing his temples.

Alexis ignored that comment, grabbing her drink to take a small sip.

“ _So_ nice of you to wake up the second I’m gone for a coffee break, ugh. But I guess that gave you two a moment?” she _booped_ him on the nose. “He was so worried, that poor thing – even when I told him I had like a thousand concussions when I was on that bumpy road trip in Thailand, and I was always _fine._ ”

“Well, you getting hit on the head multiple times might explain a few things about you,” David teased her – she had basically asked for that one.

“Oh my god, stop it, David – I’m trying to say that you’re fine too, right?”

In Alexis’ eyes, David found a glint of concern, mixed with her well-known tenderness.

“Yes, I am fine.” He felt his sister intertwine her pinkie with his, the way they used to when they were kids. He allowed it. “I might never voluntarily get on a ladder ever again, but I am fine.”

“ _Totally.”_

-

When the nurse assured them that David was doing alright and only needed to stay under surveillance for the night, Alexis decided to head back to the motel. Patrick sat back on the hospital chair, as close to David’s bed as he could.

“You know that visiting hours are over soon, don’t you?” David asked.

Patrick hummed, tightened his grip on David’s hand. “I know. I’m trying to stretch this for as long as they don’t kick me out,” he said.

He didn’t want to leave, he didn’t want to let David go unsupervised for the second time today – the first time hadn’t ended so well. He had been distressed since the accident, and leaving him out of his sight in a sad, small hospital room didn’t feel right.

“Helena’s gonna bring you some blankets and a pillow,” David casually dropped. “She’ll come over during her break.”

Patrick was pulled out of his thoughts – had he missed something?

“That’s – Helena’s the nurse we saw earlier. We had a bit of a chat when you guys were outside; I told her it might be easier to let you break a small rule than to drag you out of here,” he smiled. “I thought I’d have to argue, but apparently you made your case by yourself before I woke up, when you – I’m quoting – ’ _harassed her about his fiancé’s state all afternoon’_. “

“Oh – I see,” Patrick answered. He should have been embarrassed, really, but he felt proud of himself – proud of David, too. “And you just knew – you just knew I’d stay, then? Because I have a pretty comfy bed at home, and – “

“Patrick,” David interrupted him. “I know you wouldn’t leave my side even if I tried to make you, so.”

Neither of them was sure that they were still talking about his stay at the hospital, because the sentence could summarize most of their relationship. 

As far as he had been concerned, David had always assumed that Patrick stayed _for_ him; to make David feel better, to push his insecurities away, to prove that he was trustworthy. David had then come to the realization that Patrick _needed_ to stay for his own sake, too. That Patrick wanted to be in his company, that he _loved_ him, that he would always make sure David was okay because if he didn’t, he would be consumed with worry.

Patrick _wanted_ to stay, so David let him.

“And, I mean, we’re fiancés now, so – in sickness and in health, yada yada yada,” David grinned, fondness spreading in his heart at the sound of Patrick’s laugh, glad he was able to replace his concerned frown by the soft smile he’d been missing all day.

**+1**

_“You're always so scared of people leaving, but maybe you're the one running away, David.”_

The fight had been long overdue; they’d been ignoring the underlying dispute hanging over their heads for _days._ Their words had been dipped in venom, twisted and deranged to rub salt into their deepest wounds. It was nothing like _them_ ; David craving for honey-soaked talk, hand holding and sweet kisses. Alexis’s presence was surprisingly soothing, back at the motel room – both experiencing rough patches in their relationships, both trying to appreciate their last moments as a reunited family. But David missed Patrick – he missed the intimacy that came with them, the way their disagreements always resolved on their own because they couldn’t stay apart for too long.

This was different. They were avoiding the issue because they didn’t know if they could come back from it. David couldn’t let that happen. His pride and ego weren’t worth losing Patrick – neither was New York. He needed to give up on his idea of the big city and _big dreams_ ; letting fully go of the burden of his past, that he had carried for way too long. He was _happy_ here; going to New York only meant proving it to the wrong people. He needed _Patrick_ to know that. David was going to fix this.

-

“Hi,” David greeted as he walked into the apartment carefully, for the first time since they had fallen apart. Patrick didn’t answer, just turned slightly towards him to give him a small nod, acknowledging his presence. He’d been acting that way since the fight, when they would run into each other at the store – it was _excruciating,_ feeling that distance between them, every single time. Patrick neglected him, kept himself busy, sorting out papers lying around.

“I – I have something for you,” David stated, dropping a small crafted package on the desk before backing away, giving Patrick his space. His fiancé looked at him with a desperate look.

“What is this, David?” he sounded tired, like he had given up a fight he didn’t have the strength to have anymore. David didn’t say anything, biting his lip, but gestured towards the gift quietly.

Patrick sighed, grabbing the present, slowly unfolding the wrapping paper, a small key falling into his palm. It was attached to a silver key ring, where two roses were intertwined. It looked slightly similar to the Rose Apothecary logo, but Patrick knew for a fact that they didn’t sell this at the store. As he turned it around, he noticed four engraved words, in a small cursive typography. _A lifetime of promises._ He swallowed the emotions nagging at his throat, afraid to ask, yet urging to know.

“Is this – “

“I got the house, Patrick.”

Tears built up in his eyes, not quite grasping his fiancé’s words. David took a step forward, joining their hands together; his eyes were watery, filled with apprehension as he talked.

“We’re not going to New York. I’m staying here, with you.” That’s where he belonged – anywhere, as long as he was by Patrick’s side. “That is – if you still want me to,” he added in a careful whisper.

The thought was still there - in the back of his mind _. He'd gone too far this time, Patrick was tired of him, Patrick was going to leave and he would have to let him go._ David didn’t listen to it. Over the years, the devil on his shoulder – always pushing him into self-destruction – had softened. His voice wasn’t so strong anymore, turning into a distant whisper, overcome by David’s new truths: he was strong, he was capable, he was loved. 

Patrick had stayed – despite every irrational thought that David had let out, despite his overreactions, despite his constant need to be reassured. Patrick had always stayed, and it was time David returned the favor. He trapped the devil away and let his inner voice talk. _He’s going to say yes,_ it stated confidently. 

“Yes – yes, David, of course I want you to stay,” Patrick croaked out, overwhelmed with emotions. He reached out to his fiancé, wrapping his arms around him. It felt right – they felt right together. They held each other tight, whispering apologies between tears, proclaiming their love for each other mid-kisses. When the intensity of the moment calmed down, David pulled away for a second, leaving a flustered Patrick whimpering.

“Just to make things clear – we might need to return the key to make a copy; I just – it was more of a gesture, they actually need it back for arrangements, and – “

“Okay, David. We’ll sort it out,” Patrick decided, and kissed him again.


End file.
